Drill pipe protector



2 Sheets-Sheet l J. E. HALL, SR., ETAL DRILL. PIPE PROTECTOR Jan. 5, 1965 Filed March 27 1963 Jan 5, 1965 J. E. HALL, SR., ETAL 3,164,216

DRILL PIPE PROTECTOR 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 27, 1963 VIIHH l INVENTORS. desse E. #fa/4 5A dames E Harn/.son y Dona/a H. Parker l '7 nrroe/vsy.

United States Patent Office 3,164,216 Patented Jan. 5, 1965 3,164,216 DRILL PIPE PROTECTOR Jesse E. Hall, Sr., James E. Harrison, and Donald. H.

Parker, Weatherford, Tex., assignors, by mesne assignments, to Trojan, Inc., Panama, Panama, a Panamanian corporation Filed Mar. 27, 1963, Ser. No. 268,361 3 Claims. (Cl. 1'75-323) 'Ihis invention relates to improvements in drill pipe protectors and refers more particularly to a protector that not only insulates the pipe against wear due to the rubbing and abrasive action of the well bore, but also imparts turbulence and an upward flow to the well fluids upon rotation of the drill pipe during the drilling operation.

In wells where high temperatures are encountered rubber drill pipe protectors, whether made of natural rubber, synthetic rubber, or a mixture `of the two, lose their resiliency and wear resistant qualities and are thus rendered useless as protection against the abrasive action of the well bore, as well as their ability to cling to the pipe in the spaced relationship necessary to afford such protection.

An object, therefore, of the present invention is to provide a protector construction having a tough, resilient exterior and an internally reinforced rigid frame, which frame is insulated both from the well temperature and from the hard rigid surface of the pipe by the resilient rubber covering.

A further object is to provide a hinge construction easily mounted and removed manually from the drill pipe, thereby dispensing entirely with complicated, expensive machines necessary to stretch and release conventional rubber protectors when attaching or removing them from the exterior surface of the pipe.

Another object is to provide resilient vanes or wings spaced circumferentially around the exterior of the protector which expose less surface to the abrasive surface of the well bore, permit a relatively unobstructed flow of well fluids while creating turbulence in the Huid, which tends to hold the dissolved solids and drill bit cuttings in suspension in said fluid.

Still another object is to provide an upward pitch on the leading edges of the resilient wings or vanes which, besides creating turbulence, imparts an upward ow to the well fluid when the drill pipe rotates, thereby assisting and maintaining the solids in suspension in the uid.

Other objects and advantages of our invention will be apparent during the course of the description and explanation which follows.

In the accompanying drawings, which form a part of the specification and are to be read in conjunction therewith, there is shown one embodiment adapted for use in practicing the invention and in the figures which make up the drawings like reference numerals are used to indicate like parts in the various views.

FIG. 1 is a broken or interrupted section of a well bore showing two drill pipe protectors and a bit mounted on a drill pipe.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged elevational view of one of the protectors shown in FIG. l, with parts in' section.

FIG. 3 is a view along the line 3 3 in FIG. 2 in the direction of lthe arrows.

FIG. 4 is an elevational view of the rigid frame stripped of its resilient cover with one of the hinges centered.

FIG. 5 is an internal elevational view `of one of the frame halves showing the holding or attachment tabs or tongues centered.

FIG. 6 is a top plan view of the frame shown in FIG. 4.

FIG. 7 is a vertical section taken along the line 7-7 in FIG. 6.

In the drawings, wherein, for the purpose of illustration is shown a preferred embodiment of the invention, the numeral 10 designates a sectional view of a well bore broken away at intervals, which well is being drilled by means of a drill pipe 11, at the lower end of which is attached a drill bit 12. To center the drill pipe and prevent Wear due to its contact with the well wall, there are mounted on the pipe at intervals along its length, protectors designated as a whole by the numeral 13.

Conventional protectors made of solid rubber, are cylindrical in shape with a plain exterior wearing surface. To mount this type of protector on the sections of the drill pipe, they are stretched or enlarged so they can be slipped over the end of the pipe sections and after being located are released, the resiliency of the rubber snaps the protectors onto the exterior of the pipe where they are held rigidly in place. In shallow wells where the well temperature is relatively low, solid rubber protectors are satisfactory and perform the service of centering the pipe and holding the pipe away from the abrasive surface of the well bore. In the deeper wells where higher temperatures are encountered, the resiliency of the rubber deteriorates and the effectiveness of wearing surface and resiliency of the rubber diminishes. It is necessary, therefore, to reinforce the rubber and blend different types of rubber in order to obtain a composition which will stand these excessive temperatures. It has also been found necessary to supplement the clinging ability of the rubber to hold the protectors in position on the drill pipe, and to this end, there have been provided positive frictional members which are pressed inwardly against the pipe, providing effective holding means regardless of the loss of resiliency and deterioration of the rubber.

The construction of a protector employing these advantages is detailed in FIGS. 2 and 3. A molded rubber covering 13a forms the exterior of the protector and molded as a part of the covering are vanes or wings 13b. This rubber exterior cover with the vanes extending outwardly therefrom is mounted or applied during the molding operation to a rigid cylindrical frame member which is constructed in halves or semicylindrical portions or parts designated as 14. Along the vertical adjoining edges fof the semicylindrical parts 14 are punched out metal tabs leaving narrow strips 14a and a vertical solid end piece 14b. These end pieces 14b are doubled back to form hinge loops 14a, the end portions 14h are then welded to the outer surface of members 14, providing reinforcement both for the hinge loops and the edges of semicircular members 14. The manner in which the tabs are punched near the ends of members 14 positions the hinge loops so they fit between and are arranged in vertical alignment with the hinge loops yof the adjoining semicylindrical part, and in a position to receive the pintles or pins 15 which hold the hinge loops and semicylindrical halves 14 together.

On the exterior of the semicylindrical members 14 and midway between the hinges are rigidly welded vertical reinforcement strips 16 drilled and threaded to receive set screws 17. Inside of the vertical reinforcement strips 16, tongues or tabs 18, best shown in FIG. 5, are punched in the walls of members 14, the free ends of said tongues positioned directly beneath set screws 17.

As further reinforcement of the semicylindrical members 14 and for the molded rubber which surrounds these members are semicircular strips or rods 19, slhown in FIGS. 4 and 7. Strips or rods 19 are permanently welded both to vertical reinforcement members 14b and 16.

The molded rubber, besides covering the outer surfaces of semicylindrical members 14, also covers their interior surfaces with a layer of resilient rubber shown at 13C.

- the rigid semicylindrcal parts 14 united at their vertical edges by hinges provided with removable pintles which render the device readily mountable, applied or removed from the drill pipe by a simpleA manual operation. The protectors are held rigidly in place on the pipe by set screws 17 which bend tongues 1S inwardly, pinching areas of the resilient cover 13C beneath the tongues firmly against the exterior surface' of the pipe.

The exterior of the protector, as previously noted, is shaped in the, form of molded Wings, blades or vanes 13b, with base portions 13a extending to the vertical edges of members 14 and serving as a cover for members 14 and 16 between the wings.

The leading edges 13d of the wings 13b are pitched at an angle so v@when properly mounted on the drill pipe andl rotated duringV the drilling operation will produce b oth turbulence and an upward flow of the well iiuids. In other words, the leading edges of these vanes have angular faces which propel the mud fluid circulated in the well upwardly around the drill pipe in a manner corresponding to the thrust given the water from a ships propeller.

In mounting the protectorsV on the drill pipe it is only necessary to remove one of the hinge pintles, clamp the protector halves about the pipe, reinsert the pintle and set down on the screws 17 firmly until tabs or tongues 18 are bent inwardly, pinching the rubber beneath the tongues into frictional engagement with the exterior surface of thev pipe. Protectors provided with reinforcement and mounted in this manner resist relatively high temperatures and are much more effective in their ability to resist wear than conventional protectors. The attachment or mounting of this type of protector to the drill pipe is considerably simplified and the rigid reinforcement frame which sustains the rubber even though it losesits resiliency to an extent from these high temperatures is itself insulated by the rubber covering both inside and outside, with little or no metal exposed to the deteriorating temperatures except the ends of the holding screws 17 and narrow exposed portions of the hinges.

From the foregoing it will be seen that this invention is well adapted to attain all of the ends and objects hereinbefore set forth together with other advantages which are inherent to the structure.

It will be understood that certain features and subcombinations are of utility and may be employed without reference to other features and subcombinations. This is contemplated by and is within the scope of the claims which follow.

As many possible embodiments may be made of the invention without departing from the scope thereof it is to be understood that all matter herein set forth or shown in the drawings is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Having thus described our invention, we claim:

l` In a drill pipe protector and well iiuid circulator, the combination with a rigid cylindrical frame member whose inside diameter is larger than the outside diameter of the pipe upon which it is to be mounted, a resilient protector member covering the cylindrical member and having a plurality of circumferentially spaced varies covering the outside of the protector, attachment tabs or tongues punched from the wall of the cylindrical member, reinforcement ribs for the cylnidrical member at the location of said tabs and set screws in threaded holes in said reinforcement ribs outside of the tabs adapted to bend the tabs inwardly whereby an area of the cylindrical portion of the resilient member beneath the tabs irictionally engages the pipe.

2. A drill pipe protector as Lin claim l, in which the reinforcement ribs comprise vertical and circumferential strips on the exterior of the cylindrical member.

3. A drill pipe protector as in claim l, in which the leading edges of the varies of the resilient member are itched upwardly whereby both turbulence and an upward flow is imparted to the well iuids by the rotation of the drill pipe.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,166,937 Bettis Iuly 25, 1939 2,657,101 Williams et al Oct. 27, 1953 2,794,617 Yancey lune 4, 1957 FOREIGN PATENTS 838,594 Great Britain June 22, 1960 849,343 Great Britain Sept. 28, 1960 

1. IN A DRILL PIPE PROTECTOR AND WELL FLUID CIRCULATOR, THE COMBINATION WITH A RIGID CYLINDRICAL FRAME MEMBER WHOSE INSIDE DIAMETER IS LARGER THAN THE OUTSIDE DIAMETER OF THE PIPE UPON WHICH IT IS TO BE MOUNTED, A RESILIENT PROTECTOR MEMBER COVERING THE CYLINDRICAL MEMBER AND HAVING A PLURALITY OF CIRCUMFERENTIALLY SPACED VANES COVERING THE OUTSIDE OF THE PROTECTOR, ATTACHMENT TABS OR TONGUES PUNCHED FROM THE WALL OF THE CYLINDRICAL MEMBER, REINFORCEMENT RIBS FOR THE CYLINDRICAL MEMBER AT THE LOCATION OF SAID TABS AND SET SCREWS IN THREADED HOLES IN SAID REINFORCEMENT RIBS OUTSIDE OF THE TABS ADAPTED TO BEND THE TABS INWARDLY WHEREBY AN AREA OF THE CYLINDRICAL PORTION OF THE RESILIENT MEMBER BENEATH THE TABS FRICTIONALLY ENGAGES THE PIPE. 